Post #7332 by tikivixen on Sat, Aug 31, 2002 6:48 PM

"refined, dark and mysterious."

Heavens, I wish someone would describe me like that...

I agree about TV's and it's why I liked the old SF one best--Palo Alto in particular isn't nearly dark enough, and it feels like a museum, albeit a really interesting and cool one. Of course, I wish I'd been to Zombie Village. My mother went, but now she can't remember it. Argh.

Bars should be dark! The last thing I want after consuming large quantities of alcohol is anyone looking at me under a bright light! Minnie's in Modesto is FABULOUSLY murky. Very flattering to the flushed, boozy complexion.

Isn't that the truth about tiki being an American pop culture fantasy! It still is, so decor-wise, whatever evokes that fantasy for you is probably the way to go. Cocoon-like does the trick for me, regardless of what sort of idol I'm lounging under. Lots of wall-coverings, cushions, soft music, that sort of thing. And WARM. Friend of mine has an amazing backyard tiki bar, but he stubbornly refuses to heat it. His wife says it's the Catholic in him. I'm not kidding.

We still seem to be one of the most repressed cultures around; I suspect we need tiki more than ever. (Reminds me of the Victorians and their fascination with Chinoiserie and the Arabian Nights.) Paganistic hedonism is the point. Which is why almost everyone's fantasy of the perfect tiki bar includes scantily clad servers...and why tiki will never be mainstream--not in this country, anyway. It's not fast, brightly lit, sanitized, homogenized, loud and PG-rated-fit-for-the-kiddies! Or PC, for that matter, though it is VERY good-natured.

Lisa, aka tikivixen